Oakland County chair's ties to surveillance vendor fuel broad public backlash and recall drive

Hundreds of residents packed the Oakland County commission chambers and told commissioners on May 14 that they want the county to cancel or pause surveillance contracts with private vendors and to take immediate steps on ethics and immigrant relief.

The meeting’s extended public-comment period — which lasted several hours and repeatedly returned to the same themes — followed a contentious April vote, which speakers said approved an expanded surveillance program. "Cancel this contract," Sam Garen, a Ferndale resident, told the board, calling the vendor's technology an "invitation for state-sanctioned violence." Justine Galbraith of Troy said the chair should have recused himself after an all-expenses-paid trip to a vendor's headquarters; she called the April process "insulting." Jake Hycoup, a Lakeland High School senior, said the decision violated the public’s trust: "You didn’t just break procedure. You broke a promise."

Many speakers tied their concerns to what they described as broader transparency and ethics failures. Public commenters repeatedly alleged that Chair David T. Woodward had undisclosed business ties with private companies that stand to benefit from county contracts; several said those relationships were reported only after decisions were under way. "We are not a mob; we are informed residents," said Kermit Williams of Oakland Forward, pressing the county to hold the sheriff’s office accountable for its role in procurement and deployment of surveillance tools.

Speakers also urged the board to fund legal services and food support for families affected by ICE enforcement, a demand echoed by multiple community groups. "If you don't help with legal aid, people are being left with devastated families," one speaker said, urging an allocation similar in scale to other recent appropriations for county programs.

Commissioners did not take new votes on the surveillance contracts at the May 14 meeting. Several commissioners who voted for procurement actions in April cited prior briefings and said staff had handled the procurement steps; other commissioners and members of the public called for pauses, written policies about data use, and independent ethics reviews.

The meeting also saw routine business: the board adopted the consent agenda and approved several committee recommendations (see "Votes at a glance" below). After the meeting, organizers said they will continue efforts, including a recall campaign, if the board does not reverse course on surveillance and adopt written protections for immigrants and data use.

Votes at a glance

- Consent agenda: adopted (clerk reported 17 yays, 0 nays). - Identisys contract extension (concealed pistol license card printers, maintenance): approved (clerk reported 15 yays, 2 nays). - Student Debt Relief Initiative milestone funding (Savvy Solutions PBC): approved (clerk reported 11 yays, 6 nays). - Jury board appointment (Aaron Martinez): confirmed (17 yays, 0 nays). - Dog-license revised late fee/expiration changes: approved (clerk reported 11 yays, 6 nays). - Donation acceptance (motorcycles/uniforms from Fugle Foundation): accepted (clerk reported 14 yays, 3 nays).

What happens next

Speakers at the meeting and several community groups said they will continue to press the board for an immediate policy barring county collaboration with ICE, funding for legal and food assistance for affected families, and a moratorium on further surveillance procurements and deployments until an independent review is completed. Some organizers said they will pursue recall petitions against commissioners who supported the procurement actions earlier in April.

Reporting note: quotations and attributions are taken from participants' remarks during the May 14 meeting; claims about past votes or trips are presented as statements made by meeting speakers, not as independently verified facts.